Chapter 144 He
Perhaps due to environmental factors, the Golden Forest seems colder and quieter than the Valley.
At least in the valley there is an open sky and mountains to look at, and in the Golden Forest, looking up, you can see golden leaves and white branches, plus the dim and soft lights that can only be seen at night.
One is open tranquility, the other is closed peace.
It has a unique flavor.
In the hall, the lord and his wife of the Golden Forest personally entertained Levi.
Celeborn and Levi sat casually on either side of a small table, while Lady Galadriel sat on the same side as Celeborn.
As the banquet unfolded, the sounds of harp and flute rang out all around, and exquisite dishes were served and neatly placed on the table.
Most of them were desserts and light vegetarian dishes, with a small amount of meat mixed in, but they were all on Levi's side.
Levi is not picky about food. The bottom line is that it can be eaten. If necessary, he can even gnaw on some rotten meat or maggot bread.
But of course delicious food is the best.
Although most of them are vegetarian dishes and dim sum, these dishes are all prepared with great care and you can tell that a lot of effort has been put into each one.
After taking a few bites and eating a biscuit, Levi was full.
It's not that he has a small appetite, but because the cookie is called Lambas... Eating one of these can restore a row of satiety and also has the effect of cheering people up.
It was served as a separate dish.
To be honest, these creamy, thin, crispy little cookies do taste pretty good.
After finishing the small piece of Lambas left on the plate, Levi asked:
"I really like these cookies, can I take some away?"
He sent out a package request.
Levi has been traveling around for the past two years and has been treated everywhere he goes. He has become accustomed to such occasions, so it is quite natural for him to make the request at this moment, without any embarrassment or shyness.
“Of course, we would like to share it with our friends.”
Celeborn and Galadriel nodded together, waved their hands, and ordered people to prepare.
“Thank you for your generosity.”
"No generosity is too great for a hero who can fight against the Balrog."
Celeborn praised him and said bluntly, "Ally, may I ask where that ring on your hand came from?"
“It seems to have a remarkable effect.”
"I made it myself."
Levi took off a ring and handed it over, saying, "It contains the power of protection, which can protect its owner from harm."
The couple across the table looked at each other, and finally Celeborn took the ring and held it in front of him to examine it carefully.
"guard…"
He murmured and handed the golden ring to Galadriel beside him.
“There is no trace of contamination.”
After examining it for a while, Lady Galadriel said, "I can sense that it has only pure protective power."
She shook her head.
Compared with the Ring of Water, the power of this "guardianship" is not that strong. It is just a simple protection of the body and does not even touch upon the concept of authority.
"As a craftsman's work, this ring is quite good, and the craftsmanship contained in it is beyond the reach of ordinary people."
“It’s remarkable.”
Celeborn returned the ring, expressing his sincere admiration and feeling relieved.
Fortunately, it was just one, oh no, two magic rings, not the kind of rings of power.
Then it's okay.
Both elves breathed a sigh of relief.
He was a human lord who was equally powerful as dragons and balrog. Once he went mad, the harm he caused would be no less than that of Sauron. Even the beginning of a new era might be marked by him. Maybe the first sentence in history books would be "that was an era of fighting against evil lords."
But fortunately, this will not happen.
"So, the legend of the wilderness, the dragon slayer, the founder of the free city-state... (omitted) Levi, what is the purpose of this journey?"
Celeborn said Levi's title in one breath, and his breathing was quite steady.
"Did he go there specifically to challenge the Fire Demon?"
"No, that was beyond my expectation."
Levi shook his head and said, "I just think that Moria is closer, and there may be some good things in there. Oh, of course, the dwarves and I are allies, they won't mind me taking something out of there."
"I had no intention of fighting the Balrog at first. It was the orcs who made so much noise that they woke him up from underground."
"That wasn't in my plan."
After all, if he really planned to fight the Flame Demon from the beginning...
The next day Moria was to be renamed Waterdeep.
“Oh, I also found this there.”
Levi took out the silver hand axe he found in the small room.
"This is…"
Galadriel stared at the hand axe for a while and said, "It is closely connected to Durin's family and must be their most precious treasure."
"I see."
Levi put away the hatchet.
"I will return it to the dwarf."
"fine."
Celeborn shook his head, picked up the goblet and drank his wine in silence.
His little action was naturally noticed by Levi.
Levi blinked, looked away, and smiled awkwardly.
I almost forgot.
This lord doesn't seem to like dwarves very much - his relatives were killed by dwarves.
That was the beginning of the hatred between the Dwarves and the Elves. The Dwarves were harmed by their own greed and killed the King of Doriath, which then triggered a series of wars.
As a witness to this betrayal firsthand, the Prince of Doriath could never again have any good feelings towards the dwarves.
He distrusts and hates dwarves.
If Thranduil were called here, the two of them would definitely have a lot of common topics.
Plus, there's a drunkard inside, who might go and fight with the dwarves after drinking. Then Thorin would have to run more than a thousand kilometers to find someone for help...
"Oh, that's right."
Levi changed the subject and said, "Please accept these as a thank you for Loslórien's support."
He took out two golden apples.
As soon as this round, pure, golden object appeared, the lord and his wife opposite were immediately attracted to it.
“I hope this can serve as a testimony to our friendly relationship.”
“So beautiful, and so precious.”
Lady Galadriel gently took the apple and kept her eyes on it for a long time, obviously quite satisfied.
Celeborn also nodded and expressed his gratitude.
“I will cherish this friendship.”
The reputation value increased again, but it doesn’t matter anymore, it’s not that big of a difference at all.
Putting aside the trivial matters and giving away his small gift, Levi finally spoke out the real purpose of this trip:
"I came here for the Maolong Tree."
“Hopefully I can get a seed of it.”
On the way here, Levi had used a lens to study the Maolong tree on the roadside. The types of magical elements contained in it were exactly the same as those of the silver tree, and the quantity was even richer.
In other words, this may be a material of higher quality than silver tree.
Maolong tree.
This matter is not a big deal, but it is not a small matter either.
Normally, the unique magical tree species in the Golden Forest must not be passed on to outsiders, but there are always exceptions.
Celeborn looked at his wife, and Galadriel nodded at him.
The two reached a consensus.
"I will personally select the finest breed for you later."
After finishing the business, this rather quiet reception ended soon.
At this time, Levi began to miss a certain old man in gray robe again.
If he were here, the reception would definitely be much more lively. This guy can find a topic to talk to anyone for a long time.
A wizard is needed here to smooth things over.
As soon as he left the hall, an elf came to act as Levi's guide.
Levi turned around and saw that it was another familiar face.
It was the elf captain.
"Hello again. The guest room is ready. Please follow me."
He took Levi to a platform with a very nice view and was about to say goodbye.
But Levi stopped him.
"Wait, what's your name?"
The elf captain was obviously a little surprised, but he immediately replied:
"Haldir, this is my name."
"I think you must be a good elf at fighting. When facing the Balrog, I saw that you quickly broke free from your fear and issued a counterattack order."
"Thank you for the compliment."
Haldir smiled and said, "These little things are not enough to prove anything. In fact, I am just a small border guard. I am usually responsible for leading the team to protect the safety of the northern part of the forest. Other than that, I hardly ever step out of the forest."
"I see."
Levi nodded and said, "Can you introduce me to the environment here? I want to walk around. Is there anything I need to pay attention to?"
"You are our honored guest, you can go anywhere."
"From here to the south is the city gate, and to the west and east are high platforms and small houses. Standing on them, you can see a great view. To the north is a garden. Usually, not many people go there, and it is especially quiet at night."
"I see. Thank you."
“This is what I should do.”
Haldir bowed slightly and left for the time being.
Levi followed his instructions, looking here and there, sometimes running to the top of a tree to look around and say hello to the residents next door, sometimes running to the river, turning his back to the elves, fishing for puffer fish alone.
"Are there such creatures in our river?" asked an elf in astonishment.
"I don't know. I've never seen one."
The elf nearby who had some fishing experience shook his head.
"Wait, he didn't put up the bait?"
How did they catch that fish?! Strange rumors have increased.
After experiencing the beautiful scenery of the Golden Forest, Levi did not return to the guest room or go to sleep that night, but walked towards the secluded garden that Haldir mentioned.
There was no movement in the Golden Forest at night, so quiet that it seemed as if time had stood still.
Only the starlight shining through the gaps between the leaves and the occasional sound of wind confirm the flow of things here.
Strolling in the garden, Levi came to an open space.
His eyes couldn't help being attracted by one thing.
It was a shallow silver basin filled with water placed on a stone platform.
Standing in front of the stone platform, Li Wei could clearly see his reflection in the basin.
"Want to see it?"
A questioning voice suddenly sounded, and when I turned around, I saw a figure emitting silver light slowly walking down the stairs.
"Lady Galadriel."
At this moment, she was holding a small box in her hand. The box was filled with soil, and there was a silver seed in the middle of the soil.
“Hopefully it will thrive somewhere else.”
"Thanks."
This is the seed of the Maolong tree.
Handing the silver-white tree seed to Levi, Galadriel walked to the basin and said:
"Water mirror, it can show you the past, present, and possible future."
"I want to give it a try."
Levi agreed. When he turned around, he found that Lady Galadriel had a silver water bottle in her hand. She was pouring water into the basin and said, "I can't predict what the mirror will show you, nor can I guarantee that what it shows will come true."
"The future is vague and illusory."
“If you see something you can’t control, close your eyes.”
"Everything will dissipate like a cloud."
"I see."
Levi took two steps forward and looked down at the basin again.
Lady Galadriel took two steps back and waited quietly.
Waves arose in the basin of water, and what was reflected in the mirror was no longer a simple reflection; it began to change.
Levi opened his eyes wide, but all he saw was a blank white.
"Is that my future? It's all white, without any color."
"Does this mean that my future is blank?"
Lady Galadriel was not surprised to hear this. She comforted him, "That is no different from what I saw. Perhaps it just represents an uncertainty..."
Before she could finish her words, a voice suddenly interrupted her.
"No."
Levi corrected, "It's not a blank slate."
He opened his eyes wide and found that the image in the water mirror had changed slightly.
As the picture gradually zoomed out, Levi's face appeared in the water mirror. The two Levis looked at each other quietly across the water mirror.
Levi in the water mirror smiled, as if saying hello.
In reality, Levi got goose bumps all over his body and his heart trembled.
I only saw the reflection in the water mirror, with eyes that were empty and completely white, emitting a faint glow.
"Is that me?"
"still…"
"Him?"
ps. There is no him, just a small easter egg in the future.
——
(End of this chapter)
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